Despite the cryptocurrency market’s recent downturn, the CEO of Lone Star Credit Union, Becky Reed, still believes that digital assets are the future of finance.
During an interview on February 6, Reed noted that ledger technology, a digital system that permits the recording of transactions in different places simultaneously, would overtake traditional financial institutions. She believes the crypto space has recently failed people because they got into it without fully grasping the system.
The Lone Credit Union CEO believes that recent events in the crypto industry have opened the eyes of investors to the importance of self-custody.
“I think there certainly was a misunderstanding of custodianship. You know who actually owns the crypto in your wallet?” she said.
Lone Star Members Investing in Crypto
Lone Star members have already started accumulating cryptocurrency as far back as 2021, according to the firm’s CEO. This happening, however, came as a surprise to Reed, as the executive board presumed its members had no interest in cryptocurrency, but the data shows otherwise.
Lone Star Credit Union is a Dallas-based member-owned non-profit financial cooperative. It offers financial services to its members as commercial banks do and refers members who intend to acquire cryptocurrency to BankSocial, a non-custodial wallet provider. The credit union organization has over $160 million in assets as of the date of publication.
Reed noted that she saw a financial behavioral change in its members in late 2021. The credit union members began to acquire cryptocurrency as people acquired stocks on E-Trades. Members would bring out as much as $100 at each paycheck to acquire crypto assets and hold them.
Reeds noted that this trend has subsided during the bear market. She stated that only roughly 10% of regular buyers still maintain their routine, and some have also reduced their frequency of purchases.
Lone Star CEO Preaches Self-Custody
Reed stated that some of its members were buying cryptocurrencies from the wrong places. The recent events in the crypto industry have led the firm to partner with non-custodial wallet providers to ensure that its members buy from well-regulated exchanges.
“When you really look at the reason crypto was created, it was created for self-custody,” Beek said. “Self-custody was something that was important and we figured, well, let’s refer it,” she added.
Reed, however, said that she or Lone Star do not recommend buying cryptocurrencies. The CEO noted that those who are purchasing digital assets are doing so at their discretion
